Meanwhile. . . .

   No dinner party is said to occur in the easternmost town of Long Island these days without the future of supermarkets being a topic of intense conversation. It is instructive, therefore, even at the risk of wearing out a satiated public, to note developments about shopping centers and, yes, the A&P, in other parts of the world.

Case In Point #1:

   "Shoppers Crowd the Suburbs, As City Centers Fear Stagnation" was the headline on a Business Day story in The New York Times on Sept. 10. It described an attempt to block suburban shopping centers in France by requiring central Government approval for any retail space of more than 11,000 square feet. This was followed by a law subjecting food stores of more than 3,000 square feet to Government approval.

Case In Point #2:

   Again in The New York Times, it was reported that the people of the island of Nantucket, "now that the summer crowds and traffic are gone," are up in arms about a proposed supermarket. It seems as if almost everyone who has spoken out is opposed to a new, private market proposed for the outskirts of town even though the existing supermarkets, A&P and Finast, are said to have long lines and a lack of parking in season.

Case In Point #3:

   Not far away as the crow flies, the prices charged by the A&P have become a hot topic of letters to the editor of the Martha's Vineyard Gazette. An outraged public forced the A&P there to offer the same prices as on Cape Cod for items on sale and advertised on flyers after the newspaper noted that a flyer showed that prices were 60 percent higher on the island for the same items.

What Is Obvious:

   The public appetite for "bigger and better" stores and for name brands at discount, is in conflict with the perceived best interests of existing town centers, where merchants fear unfair competition and lowered business and property values, and traditionalists dread the decline of historic districts and small-town life.

What Is To Be Hoped For:

   A new way to accommodate the new while preserving the old. Let it begin right here.